Dog bites can be life-threatening and extremely painful, and dog bite victims may require hospital stays, missed work or school, antibiotic treatments, and other complications. However, what many don’t know is that dogs often attack hands and faces – two areas that could need multiple reconstructive surgeries in the wake of a dog mauling incident.

Although dog bites don’t often lead to permanent disability, it is common for dog bites to leave significant scarring and disfigurement. Others will suffer torn facial muscles that change their ability to express themselves. In fact, dog bite injury treatments cost the United States $100 million each year. Common surgeries involve reconstructing a dog bite victim’s lip, nose, cheeks, and neck – or minimizing the size or appearance of facial scars.

Dog bites can lead to the following injuries: bone damage, torn muscles nerve damage, cuts, abrasions, scratches, punctures, lacerations, and underlying tissue damage. These injuries can lead to visible scarring and disfigurement – sometimes to the extent that dog bite victims require skin grafts, tissue grafts, plastic surgery, and reattaching blood vessels. Not only are these surgeries often expensive and painful, they can also lead to more missed time during the operation and during recovery.

Roughly half of serious dog attacks involve children under the age of 15 – for these cases, a visible scar or disfigurement can lead to emotional trauma self-esteem issues, and confidence problems. In these cases, plastic surgery is key in restoring their confidence and moving on from the dog attack incident.